SHARKS NOTEBOOK / Bittersweet milestone for Rathje

The fact Mike Rathje needed just 38 games to establish a career-high with his sixth goal of the season was of little consolation to the veteran defenseman after Thursday night's loss.

"It's a positive for me, it's been a good year for points for me," Rathje said. "It doesn't make me happy, though. I wasn't expecting this. It kind of ruins all the good part of it."

Rathje scored five goals in 52 games after missing the first 28 over a holdout last year. He had five in 82 games in 1998-99, too. Rathje has a nine- year high in points, too, with 20.

The team comes first, however.

"We're not winning, that's the bottom line," he said. "That's all we go by. Whether it's the PK being no good, we're not scoring enough or there's not enough fore- check. It changes every night when we should know better.

"That's why we won last year. We did those things right."

MINOR DEVELOPMENT: Jim Fahey was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three games, and he received a second piece of good news Thursday. He was named along with forward Niko Dimitrakos to represent the Cleveland Barons in the AHL All-Star Classic scheduled for Feb. 3 in Portland, Maine.

Fahey had two goals and 17 points in 25 games with the Barons before his promotion in early December. Dimitrakos, a rookie in the AHL after four years at the University of Maine, will start for the Planet- USA squad. Dimitrakos had 10 goals and 24 assists for a team leading 34 points before Cleveland's game Thursday night.